Then + Now: My Crush – Justine Bateman from ‘Family Ties’

I have been loving Jason Batemen lately. In the past decade he reappeared on the scene as a very strong character, and has made some great stuff. See The Switch, Horrible Bosses, a supporting part in the Break Up.

He had disappeared from the limelight after owning sitcoms for a while, and when he came back I wondered if his sister would follow. I had a huge crush on her when I was a kid!

You remember her best as airhead Mallory Keaton from the '80s sitcom 'Family Ties,' but what's Justine Bateman been up to since the show ended?

Then:

Justine Bateman played Mallory Keaton, little sister to Alex (Michael J. Fox) on 'Family Ties.' The show followed liberal ex-hippie parents and the way they clashed with their teenagers who were coming up in the era of conservative politics. Mallory was the materialistic one, going against her mother's more feminist leanings, but was also often teased by brother Alex for being a ditz.

Now:

Michael Loccisano, Getty Images

Justine, the real-life sister of fellow former child star and actor Jason Bateman, still pops up in movies and on television shows like 'Californication,' 'Men in Trees' and 'Desperate Housewives.' She also co-starred with brother Jason in an episode of his show 'Arrested Development,' playing a high-end escort on whom he develops a crush -- only to discover she may be his half-sister.

Bateman is an activist who has helped with campaigns like the Writers Guild of America strike back in 2007, and more recently she's campaigned for net neutrality. Last year, she enrolled at UCLA to study computer science.